The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), together with many other partners, are working to bring Atlantic Salmon back to the lake. It has been over a century since the lake was full of Atlantic Salmon.

This treasured species is an important part of our natural heritage and part of Ontario’s rich biodiversity.

For early European settlers, Atlantic salmon were an important food fishery and were so abundant that they could be caught by the barrel. Settlement took its toll on the local environment, however, and Atlantic Salmon were one of the first fish species in the Great Lakes to be wiped out by human activities. Decades of rehabilitation and pollution control improved the health of the watersheds, and years of research by OMNR and others demonstrated it was possible to restore Atlantic Salmon to the tributaries of Lake Ontario, so in 2006 the OFAH and more than 40 partners launched a major initiative to restore a self-sustaining Atlantic Salmon population to Lake Ontario and its streams. It is estimated that it will take a further 10-15 years to achieve that goal.

The Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program, also known as Bring Back the Salmon, has four components: fish production and stocking, water quality and habitat enhancement, outreach and education, and research and monitoring.

The Adopt-An-Atlantic fundraising program is a great way for people to get involved in the program. By adopting one of the Atlantic salmon broodstock, the parent fish of all the fry that are being released into Lake Ontario’s tributaries, you are supporting research and assessment projects made possible by knowing the identity and genetics of all the parent stock. For a contribution of $10.00, you’ll get the naming rights to one fish, a certificate recognizing your participation, and you and your fish will be listed in the Adoption Registry.

For more information see www.bringbackthesalmon.ca

Yours In Boating